GZA f/ Method Man “Shadowboxin’” (1995)

Producer: The RZA

Album: Liquid Swords

Label: Geffen/MCA Records

Method Man: “It’s crazy because I had put those two verses on there. GZA was supposed to put two verses on there too, but he only put one. I don’t know what happened. That’s RZA. Being in the studio, in the dungeon by himself, he’ll think the shit out like, ‘Fuck it. Let’s do it this way.’

“When I made that record, that’s when my style flipped. It became something else. That record and ‘The Riddler.’ Before that, it was always uptempo shit. It was ‘Release Yo’ Delf,’ ‘Method Man,’ ‘Bring The Pain.’

“But ‘Shadowboxin’’ wasn’t that frantic shit. Music always depends on what kind of vibe you’re in. It would just be me and RZA in the studio and I always listened to RZA. He was one of my biggest critics and my muse.”